Renting in the middle of the month?

[Tracy Thompson]

So we cannot locate in The Book on Managing Rental Properties how to handle a tenant moving in a home in the middle of the month.  Do we pro-rate and only charge for the remaining days of the month?  Thanks!

[Jon Holdman]

IMHO best practice is to collect a FULL months rent (and full deposit, both in cash or equivalent) at lease signing.  Pro-rate the next month.  So, if they move in on the 10th, they pay a full months rent, then one third of a month on the first.  The risk with pro-rating is that you end up collecting only a partial month rent from a professional tenant and then have to do an eviction.